The species name longicauda is from Latin longus, "long" and caudus, "tail".

They breed from eastern Alaska south east of the Rocky Mountains through Montana to northern Oklahoma and then northeast to Pennsylvania, New England and extreme southern Quebec and Ontario.

Even though they are sandpipers, they prefer open country with tall grasses to coastal habitat.

The upland sandpiper's diet includes grasshoppers, crickets, weevils, beetles, moths, ants, flies, bugs, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, snails and earthworms.

Every year, between September and October, some upland sandpipers migrate to Ozogoche lagoons, in southern Ecuador.

Hundreds of them swoop down and dive into the icy waters of the lagoons, where they die of hypothermia.

The breeding season is from early-to-late summer; nests are located on the ground in dense grass.

[7] Controlled burns may benefit this species as they feed on low-growing plants that are more easily spotted after a fire.